


Gone a Wooing to Several Gentlemen

by WildcatPacer



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-10
Updated: 2017-04-10
Packaged: 2018-10-17 08:24:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 15,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10590177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildcatPacer/pseuds/WildcatPacer
Summary: When Katniss's mother dies, and her father is injured, in a mining accident, she must make life-altering decisions to save her family. When a fire tears apart her marriage to a boy she has come to love, will she be able to salvage the life she had to construct for herself?





	1. Terrible Accident

**Chapter 1: Terrible Accident**  

Lillian Everdeen covered her ears as the elevator took her down into the mines. Ordinarily, she wouldn't be down here, but she had to make an important delivery. 

Stepping out into the earthy tunnels, she saw miners picking at the rock around them. Others were gathered around wooden tables brought down, on break. 

"Lillian!" She turned to see a sooty miner approaching her. The black dust that coated his face made him unrecognizable by sight, but she recognized his voice. Her husband, Estes. 

"Hi, honey!" Smiling tenderly, she wiped some of the soot off from beneath his nose, revealing his lips so she could give him a proper kiss in greeting. The couple smiled when they broke apart. 

"What are you doing here?"

Lillian gave him an amused grin while holding up a brown sack. "You forgot your lunch."

Estes kissed her again in thanks, before taking her over to the edge of the tunnels for some privacy. "How are the girls?"

"In school. Katniss made sure Prim got up. Our little baby didn't want to."

Estes laughed. "Those two! They need their education to really be the Belles of District 12!"

Suddenly, a siren came blaring over the limited intercom system, along with some rumbling. The earth began to shake. Lillian covered her ears. "Estes, sweetheart, what's happening?"

Estes began to push his wife towards the elevators. "You have to get out of here! It's a collapse! Get to the surface before -"

BOOM! The explosion threw Estes into an open elevator, and he hit his head on the metal. Smoke began to fill the space and he could see no sign of his wife. And then, everything went black.

* * *

When Estes came to, he had been returned to the surface and placed in the hospital. He knew he was lucky to be alive, and was confident that he would be returned to work after a brief recovery.  

But that confidence was shattered when the Miner Foreman visited him with the devastating news that his wife of nearly twenty years had died in the mine collapse - one of the worst that District 12 had seen in several decades. Estes came apart, drowning in his own tears. What would become of him, as a widower still only in middle-age? What would happen to his two daughters?


	2. Selling Yourself

**Chapter 2: Selling Yourself**

His room is dark when I enter. The curtains are drawn against the night, which would be normal, if that position was not the same one they have been in against the garish light of day. Daddy lies in bed, unmoving; his head doesn't even turn at the opening of the door. I approach tentatively, as kindly as I can.

"Hi, Daddy. I brought you some soup." Eating has always been a challenge for him, since the mining accident that left him paralyzed from the shoulders down. But, sip by sip, I manage to coax some broth into him. "Primrose is asleep. I just sent her to bed."

"Good girl," he rasps. It isn't long before he collapses his head against the pillows I manage to keep fluffed. Within moments, he is asleep. 

Checking to make sure he is truly out, I slip out of his room and into the one I share with my sister, Prim. Opening the closet, I find the faded blue dress that my mother wore during her youth as a Merchant, and slip it on. It hangs a little loose, but not dangerously so. I then proceed to the bathroom where I shakily apply make-up. I have never been one for cosmetics because I've never considered myself that type of girl. And besides, our poverty has meant that these were a luxury that was difficult to come by. 

Both of these factors, however, must change if my family is to survive. 

Life has been almost unbearable in the five years since my mother's death. With her gone, and my father permanently barred from the labor force, it has fallen to me to provide income for my family, and to raise Prim. I do this by hunting illegally in the woods beyond Twelve, selling my game in the black market of the Hob. The money I glean from these efforts is all that has been keeping my family alive. 

The natural seasons bring in a cyclical variation into how much meat I can bring in and, subsequently, how much we earn and eat. I can usually manage a subsistent haul whatever the weather, but what I can't count on are the degrees of the weather patterns that dictate my hunts. And this winter has been one of the worst in living memory. The ponds are frozen, so no fish have been biting. Large game like bears have been hibernating. And the extraordinarily low temperatures have ensured that even non-hibernating animals stay out of the cold. These days, I am lucky to bring in two or three kills, if that. Sometimes, I have arrived at the Hob empty-handed - a reality that fills me with shame, but I have dependent customers who rely on me to be straight with them over what I have, or have not, managed to provide. 

All of this sums up why I must do what I must do tonight. 

Only the very desperate stoop to selling themselves. It isn't because a market isn't there - oh, there is! It is because these women have nowhere else to turn. Our Head Peacekeeper, Cray, holds a monopoly on the prostitution "industry" here. I have observed many a woman outside his door, hoping to be picked. Especially within the Seam, the competition is quite high. My only advantage? My virginity. Cray would be more than eager to take me to bed if he knew he was my first. I try to swallow the bile rising in my throat at the thought. 

Checking myself in the mirror one last time, I steal quietly out the back door of our Seam abode. I crawl under the fence bordering the District and head for the woods. At its edge, I move along in a horizontal direction. Entering Cray's from the back will give me more of a chance that I will not be observed. The only pride I can still cling to is the confidence to few people as possible will witness what I have been brought down to. 

I am so focused on the rows of houses, and making sure I reach the right one in Cray's, that I am not watching where I am going. All at once, I crash into something. No - some _one_..... a body....

"Katniss?" I jump back, startled. Why would anyone be out here at this time of night in the woods - and anyone who knows my name? I am not the most sociable person in the world, so few people are considered my friends or viewed with any value beyond what price I might be able to haggle from them for game. 

But the most startling anomaly of this unexpected encounter is the features of the person I have bumped into. In the moonlight, I can see that he has blonde hair as golden as the sun. Porcelain skin. And those eyes..... eyes as blue as a summer sky.....

It is Peeta Mellark - the Baker's son, and a Merchant. He's in my year in school; we even have a few classes together. Though we don't talk at all. 

"What are you doing out here?" Peeta smiles, as if he is happy to see me. He looks me over once, though not in a leering way, just curiosity. As he takes in the sight of me, I can see his eyes narrow, can almost observe the gears turning in his head. When his eyes widen, I want to cry. He knows. If the dress didn't give it away, the make-up certainly did. I almost exclusively wear my father's hunting jacket when I go out, and pride myself on the plain front I project when it comes to my physical features. 

"Katniss, you're not going to Cray, are you?" I'm surprised that he makes his deduction in the form of a question and not a statement. All the same, I find myself choking out, "How did you......?"

"Just the way you were dolled up. And the fact that you never wear that dress unless it is to attend the Reaping."

I am floored. How could Peeta Mellark - of all people! - be so divinely astute as to keep tabs on what I _wear_? I shake my head to clear it. I did not expect this impediment to my inevitable destination, but I will think my way around it. I side-step to pass him, but he blocks me with ease and grips my shoulders. 

"Katniss..... you don't have to do this."

I scowl at him and fling his hands away. "What business is it of yours what I do? You're not the one whose father is a dead man walking. Whose little sister is starving to death! What do you know about me?"

"No," he allows. "I'm not. And you're right: I don't know what any of that is like. But I do know this: the Katniss I know would never stoop to this level unless she had exhausted all of her options. She would continue to do whatever it takes to feed her family in the honorable way." Peeta suddenly fishes in his pocket and pulls out a bag of coins. He holds it out to me. "It was from my birthday," he mumbles. "Take it. I know you need it."

I stare with resentment at the gift he presents willy-nilly, as if giving away something for free is altruistic. And perhaps, in his view, it is. But to me, it's painfully naive. Nothing in this life is free, and anyone who accepts gifts as such - no matter the intentions of the giver - does not possess the pride that I do. So thinking, I swat the money bag aside and seize Peeta's shirt in my fists angrily. 

"Then you should know this about me too: I'm not a charity case! I never accept my keep unless I have earned it. Doesn't matter how, and at this point it doesn't matter from who."

Peeta's eyes grow wide with fear, like a prey in the moments before death, when it becomes painfully aware of its own mortality. "I didn't..... I'm sorry, I...... Mmmm!!!"

I silence him as I fiercely press my lips to his in a violent kiss. I move quickly, slithering one arm around his neck so that he can't get away, while I sneak the other past the waistband of his jeans. I grope for a bit, clumsy and inexperienced in sexual foreplay, before finding what I am looking for. I grasp the fleshy foreskin of his length, cupping it in my palm, before beginning to vigorously stroke him - up and down, up and down. 

"No........" Peeta's voice is weak as my lips assault his, and I take the opportunity of his cry to slip my tongue in between his briefly parted mouth, to dance and intertwine with his. One coaxes the other, like a serpent charmer, to willingly participate in his own seduction. 

All at once, I feel hands go about my waist. I sense fingers grope lower, heavily petting and squeezing my bum. Peeta's pelvis suddenly and ferociously humps into mine, and I respond almost involuntarily, grinding mine into his. Is this what two people do when they fornicate?

Apparently so, for Peeta suddenly raises my leg to his waist in a galling display of desire. He wants sex, and he wants it with me! Communicating my consent, I hook my other thigh around his leg, bringing myself flush against him. We break apart briefly, panting for breath. 

"You're all I've ever wanted," Peeta gasps out. "Marry me." His lips go back to mine. 

I let out a confused whimper into his lips. Marry _me_? Really? He would have a plain, mediocre daughter of a Seam miner as his wife? The thought is stunning and confusing.  

"Mmmmmmm........ Mmmmmmmm......." As I moan sensuously, I let Peeta back us up into the grating bark of the nearest pine. I feel him take the flesh of my thighs in his hands as he proceeds to hoist my body up the tree. I have no choice but to fold my body around his. I close my eyes, and my grip on his back tightens. I know what is to come next, and as a woman, I should prepare myself for it. This is going to hurt; that much is clear. Add the fact that I'm a virgin, and Peeta will soon be ripping my insides as though he has never bedded a female in his life. 

So imagine my surprise, when I feel a gentle palm roll back the hem of my mother's dress, slide my panties off almost reverently. The gentle brush of something against the follicles of my entrance......

"MMMMMMMM!!!!!!" Despite the fact that Peeta enters me swiftly, fluidly, the shattering of my hymen still transmits a ghastly pain. The baker's son thrusts slowly at first, and then faster; with each thrust, pleasure builds up in me. I spring my lips from his to plant kisses along his jawline and face, even as I groan from our coupling. 

"Uhhhhh...... Uhhhhhhh......... UHHHHHHHHH!!!! UHHHHHHHH!!!!!" My hands scrabble for purchase along his rippling shoulder blades. "I...... Ohhhhhhhhhh........" I don't even know what I might have been about to say, nor do I care, as I release myself along his length. The pulsing of my orgasm is so debilitating, that if it weren't for Peeta literally propping me up, I would topple to the ground. 

"Grrrrrruhhhhhhh......" Peeta lets forth a noise like none I have ever heard uttered from any man, before ejaculating into me. He staggers against my body, finally collapsing under the combination of his own weight and mine, and we more or less gracefully fall into a heap on the grass. I am settled beneath Peeta, and he moves no more. 

My eyes are wide, as for the first time, I begin to process what it is I've just done. Fucking a Merchant is a whole different scenario than throwing oneself at a Peacekeeper; soliciting sex from someone across class lines is usually frowned upon in this district. If anyone saw us..... shit!

I push Peeta out of me, then off me, and he flops over unconscious. Redressing myself, I rise to my feet, and seize the discarded bag of money before taking off into the night. I don't check to see if the object of my tryst is all right. I don't even say goodbye or give a thank you for a lovely fuck. A debt paid. A trade made fair. 

I just do what I do best: I run. 


	3. A Married Merchant Woman

**Chapter 3: A Married Merchant Woman**  

Neither Daddy nor Prim ask about the big bag of coins when I gather them for breakfast early the next morning. Even if they suspect its origins insofar as what it took for me to get it, they keep these ruminations to themselves. Having fulfilled our 'one-meal-together-as-a-family' for today, I help Daddy back to bed and then take Prim to school. No longer do I grace the halls of education with my presence - feeding my family required me to give up such useless things. As it is, I have enough education to keep myself alive. I do expect more for Prim, though, and desire her to be the best that she can be. Her future is more valuable than mine. 

With the money I earned from Peeta, I am able to _buy_ food for once instead of providing it, along with many other household necessities. I return my shopping to our house and begin to integrate it into our meager existence. Perhaps such funds can allow my family to stay alive a little longer until the next tesserae. 

Around noon, I have just finished feeding my daddy lunch when there is a knock at the door. When I answer, I nearly fall over when I see it is Peeta Mellark. Did he come all the way from school just to talk to me? Is this his chance to berate me for leaving him alone last night. 

"What are you doing here?" I ask. 

"To see you." He suddenly takes my hand, keeping it tight in his grip before I can pull away. "I saw from the school window bringing all this stuff back. I knew you were poor, but I did not know it was so bad!"

"Well, your donation helped and we should be fine for now. Thank you," I say stiffly. 

"Maybe, but not forever," he rationalizes. And he has a point. 

I avert my eyes from his gaze. "What more can you give?" I whisper. 

"My hand. In marriage."

I turn back to him, eyes wide with shock. I remember those odds words he managed to utter in the heat of passion, about how he wanted to marry me. "You were serious?" After that, I am speechless. Marriages between Merchant and Seam are rare, almost non-existent. The last known case was actually my parents, in a love story both epic and scandalous. For Peeta to willingly give up his Merchant status would mean ostracizsement by his neighbors, if not disownment from his family. And he would have _me_? A poor Seam girl who is not very pretty? And who would not easily conform to or complete the domestic accomplishments of a typical housewife? I shake him off. 

"Ridiculous. You're being ridiculous. This is foolish!"

"Maybe for me, it is. But I don't care what other people say. If we marry, you would have access to my fortune. At least enough money so your father and sister wouldn't want for anything."

Right away, I can read into what he is saying. This is a marriage that doesn't have to be about love, but about economics. And it would benefit me. Certainly it will not benefit Peeta, but perhaps he is not thinking of that or believes it to be a sacrifice he is willing to make. I think back to our sexual intercourse last night in the woods, and realize it was not an out-of-character gesture that Peeta extended to me. I know this much about him: he is known for having a kind and sweet reputation - a rarity among men in our district. I have heard many a horror story of husbands who beat their wives. My father is another exception to this rule. 

And I realize that any girl would be fortunate to have Peeta as a husband, whether the marriage was based on love or not. Peeta is offering security for myself and for my family and with no perceivable gain for himself. So what if we enter into this contract with the understanding that we may never take each other to bed? The understanding that I would cook and clean for him, but never bear any children of his?

So I nod. "Yes. I accept. I will marry you."

Peeta actually grins. 

"Come.... come by tonight, and we..... can have a toasting?" I stammer. Words I never thought I'd say, for I had once sworn that I would never marry. 

"Sure, and I'll bring a preacher; the documents to sign. We can keep it very discreet and not have to go to the Justice Building."

"Yes, I think that would be best," I nod, my face blank. Peeta can say he does not care of other's opinions over his chosen bride, but it will only help him if as few people know as possible. We can keep it a secret. I think. 

Peeta pauses on the stoop for a moment, as if he wants to say something else. Then he moves towards me. Startled, I take a step back. "What are you doing?"

"Will you just stand still?" Then he pulls me to him and kisses me right on the lips. For a moment, I give in, and then we break apart. I blink, recovering from my shock. 

"I'll see you tonight," Peeta whispers. And then he hustles off back towards the school. I stare after him, a hand to my lips, unsure of what just happened. 

* * *

As soon as Prim returns home from school, I hustle her into our bedroom, where our mother's old wedding dress lies on the bed. I ask her to help me into it, and to not ask any questions. Eyes shining in excitement while still befuddled as to why I am donning a bridal gown, Prim helps me into it and we even take it up ourselves so that it fits me. 

Dusk falls. The moon is rising into the sky when there is a knock at the door. I answer it, Prim right behind me, to find Peeta Mellark and the clerk from the Justice Building waiting outside. Peeta looks - I have to admit it - _handsome_ in a pressed tuxedo. Prim gasps upon seeing him. 

"You're marrying Peeta? Why? Did you have an affair?"

"Primrose, hush," I order, not taking my eyes off the young man before me, the young man who is to be my husband. 

Peeta glances down at Prim, who ducks shyly behind me. "Does she know?"

"She does now," I shrug. "We need at least one witness, and anyway, she can keep quiet."

Peeta grins slyly. "I suppose I can swipe a few frosted cookies as payment for her silence," he muses, loud enough for my sister to hear. I smirk. Bribery of the highest order - Prim absolutely loves the cookies from the Mellark Bakery. In our family, they are a rare delicacy that we can only afford on special holidays, like Parcel Day.

"You look beautiful," Peeta's compliment jolts me out of my thoughts. I oddly find myself blushing. 

"So do you. I mean, handsome. You look.... handsome," I trip over my words, and want to hide my face in embarrassment. I'm going to be a horrible spouse if I can't even compliment my husband in a coherent fashion! 

I usher Peeta and the Clerk inside. Primrose runs upstairs to fetch Daddy, wheeling his sickbed down the ramp I installed to lay over the stairs. Even though I am marrying in the dead of night to a boy I hardly know, I am certain my father would want to see his oldest daughter get married. Peeta nods in his direction. 

"I promise to take care of your daughter faithfully, sir."

Though I can tell Daddy is surprised by my choice, the irony of his own wedding to my mother is not lost on him. He smiles in approval and as a way to give his blessing to Peeta's and my union. Perhaps he thinks it is fitting. 

As the Clerk conducts the ceremony, and Peeta and I exchange customary District 12 wedding vows, Primrose stokes the fire. By the time simple rings have been exchanged, my sister approaches with a plate of toasted bread. Breaking it, Peeta and I share the bread, as is tradition. No one in Twelve feels truly married until after a Toasting.

Or at least not until...... I now move to embrace my new husband. Peeta takes a step back. "What are you doing?"

I smile - a real, genuine smile - as I recall our exchange from earlier. "Will you just stand still?" Pulling his neck down to me, I kiss him on the mouth. The kiss that seals our marriage is actually passionate on my part, and I feel my eyes close, sense my lips molding to his as I deepen the kiss. At last, we draw apart. Prim dutifully applauds, and I can my father has tears in his eyes that he cannot wipe away himself. So I do so for him, kissing away the saltiness from his face. 

"I love you, Daddy."

* * *

After returning Daddy to his room, I take Peeta up to what used to be Prim's and my bed, and will now be...... ours. Prim accepts a demotion onto the living room couch without complaint. 

However, I do not sexually pleasure my husband in our marriage bed, on our wedding night. I have a lot to think about, chiefly over how exactly this thrown-together marriage is going to work. Will there be affection allowed? Will there be sex of any kind? Or is this just an alliance and not a union between two people in love? Nothing can be done unless rules are decided upon, and that can wait at least until tomorrow. Turning off the light, I turn under the covers so that I am facing away from my..... husband without even saying good night. I hear him say so, though, just before we both fall asleep.


	4. Blowing Up the Tension

**Chapter 4: Blowing Up the Tension**  

The alarm clock pierces through the calm of the early morning. Groaning, I roll over to see a man on the other side of my bed. A man who is now rising from the mattress and plodding over to my - our - bathroom. I remember the events of last night and blush beet red at the sight of Peeta, my new husband, in nothing but boxer shorts.

"You have to get up early for the bakery?" I yawn, as I follow him into the bathroom. 

"Yeah," he replies, splashing water on his face. 

"Will your parents be suspicious that you didn't come home?" I wonder. 

"I'll make something up. Besides, I've been out all night often before." There is a quality in his eyes that makes me sense there is something he doesn't want to tell me. Almost instinctively, I feel a pang of hurt for him. I brush both of these observations off. It's none of my business. 

"And you have to go hunting?"

"Then be back in time to feed Daddy, wake Prim and take her to school," I finish. 

"You take the shower first, then. You have more to do."

"But you have a schedule to keep, clocking in!" I argue. Before I can stop myself, I am stripping my nightshirt off in front of him. He respectfully turns around, but then flinches when I begin pushing him towards the shower. "We'll have to go together. There's not much time!" 

Despite the fact that we've been husband and wife for roughly twelve hours, Peeta and I tiptoe around each other under the spray. First he luxuriates, then scrubs while I go rinse. As we rotate, we are painfully careful to not brush our bodies up against each other in any way. This feet is barely possible, though, with as small as the shower is. At one point, I even feel..... something intimate of my husband accidentally brush against my butt. 

I huff. This is ridiculous. Peeta and I are walking on eggshells, as if a bomb will go off at any moment. I think back to my musings about how this whole marriage thing is going to work, whether there are to be any rules. 

And in this moment, I realize it would be better for everyone involved if there were no rules. So thinking, I avoid the proverbial bomb Peeta and I have been dancing around by deliberatively setting it off. 

Spinning around, I suddenly push Peeta up against the wall. 

"What are you doing?"

"Why is standing still such a hard concept for you?" I growl. 

"For _us_. But I don't -"

"Shut up!" I snap. I drop to my knees, so that my husband's...... manliness dangles directly before me. Boldly, I take my spouse's penis in my mouth. Before he can do something like extract himself, I tenderly cup his balls in my hands and squeeze them. 

"Oh!!!! Mmmmmm!!!!" Peeta claps a hand over his mouth, careful not to wake the whole house as I give him the blowjob of his life. 

I never expected that I would ever know Peeta's foreskin between my lips. It feels smooth, healthy...... and it tastes like yeast. I inhale deep in my nostrils and catch the smell of freshly baked bread......

"Hmmmmmmm........." I moan in pleasure, my eyes fluttering shut, as I lazily loll my tongue out to lick the upper reaches of his shaft. He tastes so _good_..... It's almost like I can't get enough of him. And I can't! My mouth now springs forward jerkily, desperately, intent on swallowing him whole. Even when his tip is slapping against the back of my throat, I work furiously, desiring to inhale more, _more_ of him.

"Mmmm!!!" I let out a strangled squeak as I feel a sharp pinch to my head. Peeta's fingers are now weaving into the tendrils of my hair. His digits sink, dig into my scalp as he holds my skull in a set position. It's not exactly necessary; I wasn't planning on going anywhere for a while. 

"Uhhhh...... UHHHHH!!!!!!" Peeta is now frantically throwing out his hips, thrusting them into my face. I can feel his organ continue to expand, to grow, inside my mouth, and my jaw muscles begin to ache at the effort it takes to accommodate him. He is vibrating, starting at his tip and then past my lips and down his length, before proceeding to his whole body. He's really close! I resolve to keep sucking him until he bursts; I'm actually curious to feel what his semen tastes like......

Unfortunately, I don't get the chance. I feel a palm suddenly on my chin, pushing me back and out. I let myself be extracted from him, coughing up spittle as I collapse to the water-soaked tiles. Above me, Peeta has covered himself with a washcloth, pumping his own shaft now before his whole body suddenly seizes, quivers, then relaxes. 

I shakily stand. I don't know why, but I eye him warily. Is he pleased with the gift I gave him? Or will he be upset?

"We might as well get it out of the way now....." I am cut off as Peeta suddenly grabs me, lifts me off my feet and staggers us into the glass wall of the shower. His lips crash against mine, and I curl my mouth into a smile, twitching it deeper into his so I can better taste the semen residue lingering there; he must have licked his fingers clean afterwards. The warm water flows over our intertwined bodies like butter. At long last, I pull away. 

"All right," I almost laugh. "No more kissing. We don't want to wake Prim."

Smiling and blushing like schoolchildren, we exit the shower and dress in silence. I finish ahead of Peeta and quickly throw together a tea downstairs in the kitchen, as breakfast. Downing my cup, I present Peeta with his as he comes down the steps. 

We emerge through the front door and immediately turn in two different directions along the path: he for the bakery, I for the woods. 

"Wait!" I turn back around just in time for Peeta to take me in his arms and kiss my lips. Framing his face, I return it. It is odd how quickly I have become accustomed to kissing this young man. "Have a good day at work."

I smirk, amused at his reference to my very dangerous, and very illegal, line of business as _'work.'_ "You too."

* * *

Still being the middle of winter, I don't catch much by way of game that day. But then again, I didn't expect to, and it just means I can return home to Daddy and Prim that much faster. I make another herbal tea for Daddy and administer it to him in his bed before waking my baby sister at last. Dressing her, I bring her down to the kitchen before giving her another cup of tea. I have set aside some meat for us, but it won't be cooked and ready until supper. By the time I leave with Prim for school, the sun is climbing steadily over the horizon. 

After dropping Prim off, I circle back around to the Hob and trade what little game I have. I come out with a few coins and actually one squirrel extra. This surprises me; perhaps I've had less buy-in on my wares due to folks stocking up for the winter. I decide to stop by the bakery on my way home. The Baker likes my squirrels and always trades a fair price for them. 

Entering through the back alley, I knock on the rear door just off the loading dock. I pray that the Baker's witch of a wife doesn't answer. Thankfully, it is not her who comes to the door, or her husband. It is _my_ husband who greets me. Peeta lights up. 

"What are you doing here?"

"I have an extra squirrel I need to trade. Your father -"

"They're his favorite!" Peeta grins. "Wait here." He slips back inside, before returning and presenting me with a few more coins. 

"Thanks. A fair trade!" I actually grin.

"Not quite." Before I can get his meaning, Peeta grabs my face and presses his lips to mine. I melt against him and moan. What is _happening_ to me? Not even 48 hours ago, I would have promptly decked any man who tried to force his lips down my throat. Now, I'm openly kissing the Baker's son in broad daylight!

"Mmmmm....... We can't do this!" I gasp breathlessly as I pull away. "Your mother....."

".... is in the office, working the books. She won't see," Peeta growls with lust. I whimper, and I feel liquid begin to soak the spot between my legs. Unable to argue with that kind of logic, I yank Peeta back to me and we kiss again. 

Touching each other, however, is a far more cautious endeavor. Like this morning, it is really an exercise in exploration, but we are more tender. Peeta runs his hands through my hair, ghosts them down my breasts. He even cups one in his hands and gives it a squeeze, as though it is the dough he has handled all his life. I groan in pleasure. "Hmmmm........"

Taking his other hand, I guide it to my waist, and then encourage him to grope lower, caressing my bum. In perfect harmony, I brush my hands over his hard erection, straining through his pants. I clasp it through the fabric, and am satisfied when my husband growls, pulling me flush against him before brazenly humping me. 

We experiment with each other for a few more minutes like this, slowly but surely learning what each of us likes and doesn't like. At last, I cut it off, uncoupling my lips from Peeta's with a small _pop_.

"I have to get this game back home. And then pick up Prim from school!"

"Mother will be wondering where I am." He touches my arm as I turn to head out of the alley. I'm already afraid someone has seen us; forbidden love and a hidden marriage are not secrets that I am confident I will maintain. "Meet you at home for dinner?"

I find myself smiling at this, touched that he now refers to my home as his, too. "A wife needs her husband home for meals. Don't be late." My flirtation shocks even me, as I have never been a flirtatious person in my life.

Peeta laughs and I turn to go. "Katniss!" I spin back. "I love you."

I stand stock-still, frozen, stunned over what he has just said. If I had any lingering belief that this was a marriage predicated on economic alliances, that is gone now. Especially as I find myself saying, "I love you, too." The words sound almost foreign, both to my own ears and the fact that it is I who has uttered them. I feel as though I am underwater. Flushing red, I sprint up the path for home, my thoughts a jumbled mess that I am unwilling to sort out until later. 

Will this marriage be about love? Will Peeta and I become even more romantically involved? Will there come a time where we fall into a routine that any loving husband and wife shares? Might I even give birth to his children one day? Even now, I have the strangest feeling that I inherently know the answer to all four inquiries, and the answers are terrifying and exhilarating all at once.


	5. Fourteen Years Later

**Chapter 5: Fourteen Years Later**

I wake up before my alarm. My body clock has become flawlessly skilled at judging the early hours of morning, when I have to go out and hunt. Climbing out of my empty bed, I quickly shower and dress, carefully working my way down the stairs so as not to disturb the other occupants of the house. 

It is summer, so the temperature is already quite warm, even in the early morning. And it will only get worse. Upon crawling under the fence and reaching the woods, I resolve that stocking up on meat is a more practical choice at the moment. The muggy weather has lowered the water levels of the ponds dangerously low; there are no ducks. Given migration won't happen for another six months, their absence is concerning. I hope some will return soon. 

I manage to fell a sizable buck, as well as nab a few squirrels. I should feel proud of myself, and I am: at 30 years old and working half in the dark, a kill like the one I've just made is pretty impressive. Satisfied that this is a haul worthy of the Hob, I return the way I came. By now, the sun is just poking over the horizon; the sky has long since turned gray. I enter the black market to find it bustling with activity. Most of the patrons are miners, frequenting the eatery stalls for a spot of breakfast before heading for the elevators and dangerous earth below. 

After trading the buck to the butcher, and haggling a few coins out of Greasy Sae for the squirrels, I notice a Peacekeeper with pepper-gray hair eyeing me. The wrinkles crease around his hardened face as he frowns, before sauntering over to me. 

"Did you get that from beyond the fence, Katniss?"

"So what if I did, Thread?" I shrug. 

"It's against District law," Thread recites almost rotely, like he's a robot. 

"Never stopped me before," I banter back. "Or you." I give him a look with words and memories implied; though I don't speak at all, I can tell these hang in the air and weigh heavily on Thread's mind. He sighs, then he grabs my hand and pulls me into the back corner of the market. Seizing my thighs he hoists me up the wall. My expression is blank as I grab his face and smash my lips into his. He moans pathetically, and after a while I do too, closing my eyes in pleasure. I can pretend all I want that this is just business, but that doesn't excuse the fact that Thread and I still somehow find ways to see each other. 

"Mmmmmm!!!!!" I scream muffledly into Thread's mouth as he slides his member swiftly into me. With each thrust, the wall behind us shakes, my body wobbling each time it is slammed against the wood. 

"You've - been a - very - bad - girl!" Thread growls with each pound. His lips attack my neck and I arch into him, my hands pawing along his shoulders. "Last time I allow this!"

"Sure. Until the next time," I call his bluff, pulling his face back to mine and kissing him again. 

"GRRrrrrrrrrr!!!!!" Thread comes inside me, slumping like a noodle against me, until I make him set me down and we re-adjust ourselves. He kisses me once before I can object. I don't return it, but don't resist him either. The passion is gone, with only necessity and convenience to take its place. "Gotta go down there to supervise these rats. See you later, babe."

And he strolls off towards the mines, while I gaze after him almost unemotionally. 

* * *

I spend the rest of the day out in the woods, tracking more game. Hunting is my sole occupation, so I appreciate the fact that I can keep my own hours, adjust my income for inflation depending upon how productive I am. Out here, it's just me, myself and I - and I'm fine with that. 

But that doesn't stop my mind from wandering elsewhere, and towards other people, as I approach my father's hunting cabin. 

* * *

_FLASHBACK: It's been a few days since the wedding. Taking my husband's hand, I drag him through the trees, actually laughing and smiling as I begin to force us both into a run._

_"Katniss!" Peeta laughs. "Where are we going?"_

_"You'll see," I chuckle. We at last arrive at my father's hunting cabin, set against the backdrop of a beautiful lake complete with a waterfall. I show my husband the inside of the cabin, the basic amenities._

_"It's not much for a honeymoon," I admit. "Certainly not the most exotic thing, but....."_

_Peeta kisses me once to shut me up, lingering before he pulls away. I whimper at the lack of his lips on mine. "It's perfect. It suits you."_

_I raise an eyebrow at him, a smile playing at my mouth. "Yeah, but does it suit you?"_

_"Never mind that!" Peeta laughs. "As long as you're happy, that's all that matters."_

_My eyes prick with tears. Barely a week as his bride, and already this boy is having a profound effect on me. His generosity, his insistence that my needs be placed above his. I tug at his hand. "Come on, let's go watch the waterfall."_

_We scale an imposing stack of boulders overlooking the pool, watching the cascade of liquid disappearing into the depths below. Many times being here with my father as a little girl, and the sight still never ceases to amaze me. "Someday," I open up. "I wanna see the world. Every speck of it. Heck, I might even find some new continents or something!" Hit with a flash of bold inspiration - rare, as I never do bold things often - I begin to strip right before my husband's very eyes. Down to my underthings. Peeta eyes me curiously, concerned. "I mean, I know there's gotta be a lot of places besides Panem, but the world is huge! It must be!"_

_When I pull my shirt over my head, Peeta cannot keep quiet any longer. "Katniss Everdeen, what are you doing?!"_

_"I believe it's Katniss **Mellark** now," I wink. "And what does it look like?" I scramble along the boulder's face until I find a good point, then stand. With a girlish scream, I leap into the water below - at least a fifteen foot drop. I can feel Peeta's eyes on me as I surface; indeed, he has crawled over to the edge and is peering down at me, barely-masked fear in his eyes. I let out a whoop and float about, beckoning my husband down. "Come on!"_

_"I can't!"_

_"Why? You're not afraid of a little cold water, are you?"_

_"No!"_

_"Are you afraid of me?"_

_"No, of course not! You're my wife!"_

_I beam. "Then what?"_

_There is a pause as Peeta bites his lip. Finally, he calls out, "I can't swim!"_

_"You're joshing me!" I gape in disbelief._

_"I wish I were," Peeta confirms his story._

_"So you're telling me, you're afraid you'll drown, right? Swallow too much water, sink to the bottom..... and die?"_

_"Thank you for putting it so vividly, **honey** , and yes, considering I would sink like a rock, drowning is a fair concern!"_

_"Well," I shrug. "I guess I'm going to just have to enjoy this all by myself..... without my husband.... just little old me......" I wait, hoping my drawn out point of the obvious is seductive enough._

_It works. Peeta strips himself of everything but his jeans, before letting out something like a squeal as he bravely leaps off the rock. His impact splashes my face. My husband surfaces almost immediately, looking absolutely terrified. "Katniss!"_

_"It's OK; it's OK! Come here, come here..... I've got you, I've got you!...... I've got you......" Cradling him in my arms the way he might have if our wedding had been more traditional, I begin to spin in the water with him. "Relax," I prompt soothingly. "Relax against me. Are you all right?"_

_"I think so!"_

_I exhale, flashing him a smile. "You did it!"_

_"I did it!" Peeta crows. "It feels wonderful!...... I'm weightless....."_

_"That's cause we're carrying you, see?" I laugh. "The water and me. We're both carrying you. You like the feeling?"_

_"I love it," Peeta confirms, but he doesn't seem to be talking about the floating sensation anymore. Suddenly, we thrash, just for a moment. "Katniss, don't let go!" Peeta squeaks._

_"It's OK, it's OK......" I smile. "There's no chance of that, Peeta Mellark...... I'm never gonna let you go...."_

_Peeta curls into my body into a kind of hug, before allowing me to lay him flat on his back over the lapping waters. I spin him about, him just floating there, allowing the waves to take him......_

* * *

I sigh, as I shake the memory from me, emerging from the trees at the edge of the forest. By now, the sun is low in the sky, and I know the miners will be returning home soon, stopping in the Hob for their evening meal. Maybe I can make it up to Thread somehow, besides just getting paid for my game. 

I manage to sell most of my catch, but not all of it, ending up with a few squirrels left over. As I leave Rooba's stall, I stop short when I see a familiar crop of pepper-gray hair.....

..... which is currently being buried against the lips of some blonde Merchant woman-skank! 

Fuming, I stomp over to the pair, seize a clay jar from a nearby table, and promptly crack it over the man's head. Thread topples out of the embrace, rubbing his temple, and the woman screams.

"How dare you! After what I've provided for you - you douchebag! We're done! Consider our arrangement closed!" I hustle from the Hob, ignoring Thread's calls to stop. I am well outside and away from prying eyes before I burst into tears. All at once, I crash into something. Or rather, someone. 

"Hey! Watch where you're....." My voice dies in my throat, as I raise my eyes to see that I recognize who it is. I would know those eyes anywhere.... eyes as blue as a summer sky......

"Peeta?" I croak out in a whisper. 

"Katniss, what's wrong?"

I cannot bear to meet his gaze any longer. "Nothing. I..... I just need to get away for a while."

Peeta nods slowly, his eyes falling to my hunting bag. "Got any squirrels left?"

"A few," I mumble. 

"Come on." He takes my hand, and I momentarily return to that moment in the woods during our honeymoon all those years ago, before he leads me back to his bakery. The place is dark and closed when Peeta lets us in the front way, throwing his keys on the counter. Crossing behind it, he beckons me forward and gestures that I put my bag on the counter. I do. "Let's see what you've got."

I show him the squirrels. He runs the first one, then the second, through his hands carefully. I observe him spy the place where my arrow found its mark. "Right in the eye...... every time....." he chuckles, half to himself, a wistful smile playing on his lips. He turns back to me. "I'll give you 25 coins for it."

I stare. That's at least double what I usually get for two from Greasy Sae, and even that is after some haggling and raising of the price! I sigh. "Peeta......"

"Stop," he cuts me off. "I want to. Here." He pushes a bag with the total amount across to me. "Get some rest. Say hi to your family."

"Yours as well."

I reply without thinking, for Peeta's eyes snap up to mine with a look of confusion and pain lingering there. My throat goes dry, and I feel my face flushing. Seizing the bag, I turn and flee from the shop without another word. 


	6. Cheaper by the Dozen

**Chapter 6: Cheaper by the Dozen**

I don't slow my pace until I have cleared myself far from the Merchant side of town. Even then, though, I find myself stomping back to the Homestead. Stupid! What a stupid, insensitive thing for you to say! I only have enough wits about me to avoid banging open the door in my seething self-loathing and regret. 

The household is loud, and lively. Children are running around and screaming with delight. 

"Rory! Winnie! Both of you, stop chasing your brother with that spider!" A pretty, blonde woman of 26 comes flouncing down the stairs as she calls after her scampering daughters. My baby sister, Prim...... who isn't a baby anymore. Rather, she is now a mother of three, and happily married. I hug her. Right away, she senses that something is off. 

"What happened, sis?"

"Nothing," I bat aside. 

"Whatever you say," she shrugs, before turning to the oven. 

"I said it was nothing!" I snarl to her back, silently scolding myself for losing my temper so easily. Still, I have my reasons for lying; I can't talk to Prim about it. But there is someone who I can talk to. At a washing tub underneath the far window, I can see my sister's mother-in-law, Hazelle Hawthorne, doing laundry. She looks up with a smile as I approach. 

"Katniss, dear! You're finally home! Had a good day in town? How was the woods?"

"They cancelled each other out," I shrug. "Can I talk to you?" Glancing around, I pull Hazelle to the kitchen table, ignoring the shouts of the children in the next room. They're playing; they won't eavesdrop. But my sister damn sure will try, which is why I keep my voice low. 

"I saw Peeta today."

Hazelle raises her eyebrows. She is one of the few people, other than Prim and my dead father, who knows of my marriage to Peeta. "Where? How was he?"

I sigh. "As gentlemanly as ever. But..... he caught me in a vulnerable moment and paid way too much for the squirrels I sold him. I think he was trying to make me feel better....."

Hazelle smiles gently. "Well, what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, until he wished salutations to my family and I echoed back 'Yours, too,' like an idiot!" I bury my head in my arms. "Why does it have to be so complicated with him and me? And why can't time turn back and make things happier? Simpler?"

Hazelle gawks. "Katniss, he lost his entire family! I know it's not your fault, but try to be a little more understanding! And tactful!"

I raise my eyes to her. "Isn't it my fault, though? I'm the one who kept him away from them. Except for that one goddam day......"

* * *

_FLASHBACK: We rise together, from the bed we share, just like every morning for the past two years. We shower together, kissing and fucking all the while, though quietly enough to not wake Prim. Hey, we're 18, we're adults, but that doesn't mean we're not aware of other people's privacy._

_At the path beyond my Seam home, we part with a lingering kiss. "When are you going to tell your mother about us?" I whine impatiently._

_"Today," Peeta promises with a smile, kissing me again. "I just have to make sure there's a rolling pin within arm's reach to defend myself when she inevitably attacks me!"_

_I pull back in his embrace, frowning, not amused. "If she even so much as touches you, I will send an arrow up her ass faster than you can say the President's name!"_

_Peeta laughs. " **That** I can believe!" We kiss again passionately for several minutes, before I forcibly have to extract myself. _

_"Go!" I laugh. "Before she gets suspicious! I'm amazed she's not gotten onto us for this long! I love you!"_

_"Love you too, babe!"_

_There is nothing out of the ordinary about my hunt that day, nor about my standard Hob run during lunch. Prim is safely in school. No longer do I have to rush back to check on my father, who finally succumbed to the injuries of his accident the year before. All that's left to do is go make my clandestine delivery to my husband's bakery..... which hopefully, after today, won't be as clandestine anymore._

_But as I approach, my eyes go wide with shock and fear, as I round the corner to see my husband's bakery in flames._

_"PEETA!!!!" I bellow, running for the structure. "PEETA! PEETA!!!!!"_

_The building has already been cordoned off. Firefighters are trying to quell the blaze. I am so panicked that I impulsively fight with the Peacekeepers who hold me back. If our marriage was not secret, I would scream for the heavens to hear that my husband is inside, and perhaps then they would let me pass. But I cannot do so, especially in front of government officials. It's too dangerous._

_"We got a survivor here! Take him to the hospital!"_

_I wheel around at the call to see a figure being carried towards the back of an ambulance. Soot covers the victim, except for a crop of ashy blonde hair._

_I nearly want to cry in relief. My husband. He's alive. As the ambulance screams for the hospital, I take off running after it. I'll be damned if I don't get to see my husband before...... before......_

* * *

_I take up my post in the waiting room and refuse to move until the nurses take me to see Peeta Mellark. When asked of what relation I am to the patient, I lie and say family friend. The fib fills me with shame. We are family by marriage. I am his wife. Why must I continue to speak ill or falsely of he who is my husband?_

_At last, a nurse leads me into Peeta's room. There he lies, an exhausted smile on his face once he sees me. Monitors hook into him every which way. As soon as the nurse leaves, I launch myself upon him, covering his face with kisses. My tears fall on his upturned face, and I kiss those away, too._

_"Oh, God........ Peeta....... Mmmmmm....... Mmmmmmm........ I can't believe..... thank God you're alive...... what happened?"_

_With a raspy voice, Peeta explains everything. The way he tells it, the fire starting was a complete accident, not of his doing, but of his mother's. When she found out that her youngest son had been secretly wed to a Seam slut for more than two years, she went ballistic, just as Peeta feared she would. It was apparently the first time Peeta had fought back against his mother, or even defended himself at all, as she came at him with a rolling pin. At one point in their struggle, the rolling pin went into one of the open ovens, causing sparks to burst forth and land on the tabletops, setting them ablaze. The fire moved quickly, smoke separating the family as they frantically tried to find a way out. Peeta was forced into the basement, jimmying open a window down there and just managing to squeeze through._

_"I didn't want to fight her, sweetheart. But when she slandered you, an innocent bystander. I felt I had no choice. It was bigger than me at that moment. I had to protect your honor."_

_I chuckle, capturing his lips with a tender kiss. "Innocent bystander? Hardly."_

_"Now, don't you go demeaning yourself. I was the one who proposed marriage....."_

_"...... and I was the one who agreed to it! Besides, I kissed you first that night! I initiated that good fuck we had in the woods!"_

_Just then, a Peacekeeper enters Peeta's room. "Mr. Mellark, I have some news for you."_

_I shrink away to the side of the room, flushing madly, as Peeta addresses the man. "Yes, Officer? What is it?"_

_"I...... regret to inform you that your family has...... passed away. In the blaze. My deepest condolences for your loss......"_

_Dead silence. For a long moment. And then, Peeta's sobs begin to wrack his body. Flustered, the Peacekeeper takes his leave; as soon as he is gone, I fling myself into Peeta's arms, holding him close. He sobs into my shirt._

_"None of this would have happened if..... if......"_

_"If what?" I ask, suddenly afraid over what the end of that sentence might be._

_"My family is dead because of me, and my choices. And how many others might be killed, too?"_

_I read into what he is saying. He thinks that if we hadn't impulsively gotten married, none of this would have happened. But is he right? Wrong? I don't have an answer. Still, I bristle._

_"Well, **I** don't regret marrying you," I throw out there. "And I've grown tired of this...... deception we've been running; I don't care if the district knows we're married! They're just..... elitist snobs!"_

_"Elitist snobs who hold a lot of sway, and could ensure bad things will happen!" Peeta suddenly takes my hand and looks me right in the eyes. "Katniss..... I want a divorce."_

_The world stops turning. My mouth falls open. I burst into uncontrollable tears. "You don't love me?"_

_"That is not it at all! It's **because** I love you that I'm sparing you!"_

_"From **what**?" I shriek. "From **what** exactly?"_

_"Them! Anybody who might cast judgement! Or render things far worse! And do you really want to be with someone who could be as crippled as your father was?"_

_"I do if it means I hold up my wedding vows!" I snarl, gripping his hand in a vice. "We promised each other: for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health!"_

_But Peeta is staring at me sadly. His mind is made up. He thinks that cutting me free will be sparing me of some unknown torment? But he loves me! And I love him!_

_Which now begs the question: do I love him enough to let him go?_

_It is the hardest decision I have ever had to make, but I finally relent. Peeta and I sign the divorce papers in the hospital, presented to us discreetly by the same clerk who officiated our wedding in my living room. And then, step by step, I will myself to walk out of the hospital and out of my beloved's life forever......._

* * *

I hardly realize that my tears are now flowing down my cheeks and hitting the tabletop as I return to the present in the Hawthornes' kitchen. I hear giggling coming from the stove that thankfully masks my sniffles. 

"Gale! Stop!" Prim's laughter is like sweet music, as she tries to dodge the feather-like kisses her husband, Gale Hawthorne, now adorns all over her face and neck - even as she's trying to finish making dinner. My vision of the happy sight is suddenly blocked by my niece, Winnie. Of my sister's three children, I secretly believe her middle offspring is my favorite. Perhaps its because - and Prim has told me this herself - Winnie resembles me the most. I suddenly find myself wondering if any child Peeta and I might have had would have looked like the little girl now facing me. 

"Auntie Katniss? Why are you crying?"

I quickly wipe at my eyes with my sleeve. "Nothing, precious."

"Are you sad because you have no one to kiss you the way Daddy kisses Mommy?"

I stare at her in astonishment. Winnie definitely inherited my sister's intuition. Brains, too. Before I can stop myself, I find my voice murmuring, "I did have someone...... once......"

"Was he my uncle? What happened to him?" Winnie asks so sweetly it breaks my heart. I bite my lip, fearing I have said too much. Peeta would have loved these children, his would-be nieces and nephew, had we stayed together. But before my niece can press me further, my sister is calling for everyone to come to the table. "Dinnertime! Ben, don't run to the table!" She warns to her son. "Rory, set the dishes, please....."

I eat with my family, but in silence, and remain silent and removed from them the rest of the night.


	7. Melt Back to the Past?

**Chapter 7: Melt Back to the Past?**

Evidently, Winnie and my sister are not the only ones who have noticed my moping about for the last few days. One Friday, when Gale comes home from the mines to find that I have not moved from the house all day, not even to hunt, he throws down the gauntlet. 

"That's it. Get something pretty on, Catnip. We're going out."

I raise an eyebrow at him, partially over his childhood nickname for me, and partially for his ordering me about. The last thing I want to do is go to some party - for presumably, that is where I am being conscripted into going - with my _brother-in-law_. I finally rise from the cushioned seat of my bedroom, where I have spent most of the afternoon staring sadly out the window. "Fine. But why can't Prim come with us?"

"She has an appointment with a patient in town. Another birth." Gale explains. When she finally came of age, my sister followed in our mother's footsteps and quickly became the most respected - in fact, the only - Healer in District Twelve.

I guess there is no way out of this, or any way to make it any less awkward. Digging through my closet, I find an old dress of my mother's that I haven't worn in years - a red party dress with flashy sequins. It was probably the most expensive piece of clothing she ever owned. Pulling it out, I find my blue Reaping dress hanging next to it, and behind that..... my wedding dress.....

I slam the closet shut with a scowl, not wanting to look at either of those dresses ever again, so painful are the memories they evoke. I probably should have burned the damn things long ago.

After waiting downstairs, Gale comes down in a pressed shirt and pants, topped with a blazer. "Didn't think you would actually listen to me."

"If I didn't, your wife would have my head," I drawl dryly. "Prim OK with this?"

"Thrilled. I think she was about ready to kick you out of the house herself. Let's go."

My brother-in-law leads me to the decorated lights of the Hob. The black market is hosting this year's Summer Festival, an event that traditionally kicks off the beginning of the harvest season for most districts. Right away, Gale encounters many of his mining buddies. Most of them look already drunk or at least buzzed, for they burst into unusually loud laughter when they see me on the young Hawthorne's arm. 

"Couldn't get your own wife to come, eh, Hawthorne?"

Gale calmly explains the situation, sadly sparing the details of what he must think is my depression and instead relaying that in the absence of his wife, I - his sister-in-law - was the next best option for a date. Ouch. 

Gale doesn't dance. And I'm not in the mood to. As I follow my brother-in-law and his buddies over to one table with plenty of drinks, I happen to look over at the bar of Ripper's stall. One stool is occupied by a very familiar crop of blonde hair. 

Curious, I draw closer. It's him all right. In the brief time I was married to him, Peeta was never the party-going type. His shyness of large crowds and boisterous events suited my purposes just fine, and we instead opted to just be alone together. The exceptions, of course, were when there was a shindig that Peeta's family had to cater. Only then would he go out. 

Another equally uncharacteristic sight is Peeta with liquor in his hand, or any alcohol at all. I remember, on the night of our wedding, Prim unlocking our father's liquor cabinet for wine to celebrate. I had a glass, but Peeta didn't imbibe a drop. He prided himself on being a teetotaler - one of the many reasons I warmed in my attraction to, and eventually love for, him.

And now, there he sits, the man whom I once shared my bed with, drinking a tall bottle of Bourbon and literally crying into his beer...... er, wine, or whatever. 

Gently, I touch his arm. "Peeta?"

He flinches significantly, spinning to face me so that his stool nearly topples over. "What are you doing here?" he slurs. 

"My, uh..... brother-in-law invited me. I think it was just a ploy to get me out of the house. Prim was probably nagging him about it, if I didn't know any better."

"Ah," Peeta nodded, clutching at his bottle the way my toddler nephew Ben might clutch at a toy. "So, you've been observing it too, then."

I frown. "Observing what?"

"Don't play..... dumb with me, Katniss! Do you know what day it is?"

I open my mouth before automatically closing it again like a fish, for it suddenly dawns on me what day this is. Tonight is the anniversary of the bakery fire. Of Peeta losing his family. And of his and my divorce. 

Drunk as he is, Peeta notices all of this. "Oh, I'm sorry," he says in a tone of mock-apology. "You forgot, didn't you?" I cringe at the very disturbing sneer he sends my way. I shake my head to clear it. 

"You're drunk," I say flatly. "You need to go home before you turn into Haymitch Abernathy!"

"Yeah, Cray? Whaddaya want?" Just beyond Peeta, I see a paunchy, middle-aged man raise his head up a fraction off the tabletop at the sound of his name before plopping it back down again. Haymitch Abernathy is our district's only living Victor, out of only two to have survived the Hunger Games. And he's a national embarrassment. 

"Katniss!" I feel a sudden hand on my arm as Gale appears at my side. "Come on; you don't want to get caught up in the dealings of these drunken riffraff!" I struggle half-heartedly as he leads me away. 

"I was doing just fine on my own!" I growl, annoyed at his protectiveness. If he wanted me looked after, he should have gotten Prim out of her appointment and had _her_ accompany me! 

"Katniss, that Townie was giving you a really sleazy look! And what were you doing, talking to Mellark anyway?"

I pause, before glancing up to look him dead in the eye. My expression is flat, serious. "He's my husband."

Gale's eyes go wide in shock and anger. "Excuse me?"

"My ex-husband," I quickly amend. 

"Ex or not, you were seriously _married_ to that _Townie_?" Gale spits. 

I square my shoulders. "Yes. I was. And I'm not ashamed of it. If you want all the juicy details, ask my sister!" I march away from him, calling over my shoulder. "Right now, I have to get him home!"

Gale is smart enough not to follow me. By now, Peeta is barely conscious at the bar, so I help him up and we stagger out of the Hob together. I guide him down the path that leads to the bakery, as if I could walk it blindfolded. And perhaps I am, in a way. Except for the beautiful stars twinkling above, it's pitch-black out. 

Peeta and I have barely reached the back alley of the bakery, just off the loading dock, when he is shrugging me aside. "All right...... all right! I'm fine!"

"No, you're not," I tell him honestly. "If it wasn't for me, you'd be passed out on the floor of the Hob by now!"

"Since when do you care where I am or how conscious I am of it?" Peeta snarls back, swaying slightly as he turns back to face me. "What business of it is yours what I do?"

I scowl. Two years of marriage and I have never seen him as irritable as he has been tonight. It's the booze that is making him into a sarcastic, childish brat. But two can play at this game. I'm the most sarcastic person one could ever meet, even when sober. 

"Because I love you!" I say the words without thinking, my frustration forcing them out of me. Just for a moment, the look in Peeta's eyes clears, and he seems to register what I have just said. At my wit's end, I suddenly reach him in one stride, seize his face and crash my lips against his. 

We moan as one, our lips battling roughly for dominance as if no time has passed in the twelve years since we last physically joined in this way. My fingers sink into his blonde curls almost painfully, and I consume my lips into his, my teeth grazing his bottom lip, my tongue slithering in between the split as he opens himself to me. It is true magic. 

I feel his hands go about me in a very deft and un-drunken way, and allow him to pull me flush against him. Peeta's hands fondle me, grope my most intimate places that only he has known, and brazenly so.

"Hmmmmmmm....... Mmmmmmmmm........ Peeta......." I whine as his lips assault my neck. I am reaching blindly, like a child flailing his limbs in the water, before I seize a chunk of his shirt's fabric in my fist. "Get this...... goddamn........" 

I show remarkable strength as I literally rip his shirt in two; why bother with the buttons? Alabaster skin - perfect, healthy and strong - greets me as I cast the ruined garment aside. Contrary to even his best expectations, Peeta recovered miraculously well from the fire. 

"Mmmmm!!!!!" I let out a startled squeal as Peeta's calloused hands lift me off my feet, hoisting me by my thighs into the air. We spin, uncoordinated, as Peeta's drunken stupor interferes with his balance and plunges us into the dirt. Peeta mounts me with surprising swiftness, pushing the hem of my red dress up past my waist. The panties I wear are not much to marvel at, but he makes quick work of them, throwing them all the way down to my ankles. 

"Ahh!!!" I suddenly yelp airily as Peeta bites into my neck, leaving a love mark. He licks it smooth almost roughly. 

"Tell me you want this," he growls, his voice husky and even more emboldened by the booze. "Say it...... say it, baby!"

I don't have time for this teasing bullshit, writhing beneath him as he plants kisses and bites on every inch of my body except where I need the most reprieve. I seize him by his shoulders, and force him to look me full in the face to make _damn_ sure he knows. "TAKE. ME."

Peeta slams his engorged manhood into my vagina without mercy. I cry out, eliciting swift retribution in the form of a bite just behind my ear. "Shut up," Peeta snarls. I mewl in response, so Peeta kisses me deeply just to get me to shut my damn mouth.

"Uh! Uh! Uh!" I squeal like a piglet with every thrust of his cock. Minutes pass like this, my body sliding painfully up against the dirt gravel and I could care less. Peeta throws my legs over his shoulders as he pounds faster towards his release, like a runner entering the final sprint for the finish line. He attacks the last of his energy, burns it as hot as the fire that nearly killed him. At last, a roar is wrenched from his throat and he explodes within me, collapsing on top of me in almost painful fashion. 

His worship of me now slows. He's exhausted, but at least he still remembers how to fuck me tender. He trails kisses down my jaw, my collarbone, the valley of my breasts, occasionally capturing my lips with his. "You're still all I've ever wanted," he half-slurs, half-whispers. "Marry me..... marry......" He passes out on top of me and lies still. Absolutely still. 

I stare up into the night sky. My mind is a pile of mush, still trying to process that I just angry-fucked my ex-husband, sleeping with him in the middle of an alley. My eyes pop open as I suddenly realize: we were really loud. Did half the district hear us? Where is Gale? Or my sister? If they come across this.... Oh God......

Like our first time together, I have to push an unconscious Peeta out and off of me. He flops into the dirt, not moving. I can't just leave him here like this, half-naked! Grunting from the effort, I manage to drag him as safely as I can onto the loading dock and in through the back door of the bakery. I leave him in the back hallway, confident no one will disturb him here. Also, no way was I getting him up those stairs to his apartment above the store.

Confused, frightened, and perhaps a bit guilty, I flee, running for the Hawthorne Homestead in my half-ruined dress and hoping against hope I beat both my sister and my brother-in-law back. And the children - what of the children? They'd better be in bed! None of them would want to see their dirty Auntie Katniss. Not like this!


	8. Merchant's Seed

**Chapter 8: Merchant's Seed**  

Thankfully, nobody sees me in my..... slutty state when I arrive back at the Hawthorne Homestead. I retreat immediately to my room, cleanse myself in the shower, before falling into bed for what is sure to be a fitful night sleep. 

Later that night, I am awoken, by voices from downstairs. Male. I recognize my brother-in-law's amongst them, slurring and swearing; his miner buddies must have helped him back from the festival. I snigger. There will be hell to pay once Prim sees his hangover in the morning! 

My impulsive coupling must have done quite a number on my mood, for over the next several days, I find myself...... happy. Almost giddy. I hum to myself as I hunt and skin the meats of my kills for our family dinners. I play readily with Rory, Winnie and Ben when asked; I even sing them The Meadow Song as a lullaby one night. 

However, though I may emotionally be in an almost unheard of healthy state, physically it is the total opposite. Barely a week passes after the Summer Festival before I find myself throwing up regularly into the toilet; the sickness even keeps me inside for a whole day so that I accomplish no hunting. Maybe it's a bug? Or did I not cook the meats carefully enough and contracted some kind of food poisoning? If the latter is so, I sure hope none of the others got it. Yet they all appear perfectly fine, even the children. 

One morning - the probably ninth or tenth in a row that I've had to throw up - Hazelle comes to sit next to me on the bathroom tiles. She rubs my hair soothingly, until I finally am able to meet her gaze. When I do, she gives me a sad smile. 

"You have to tell him." She doesn't have to say anything further for me to know whom it is she's talking about, nor to communicate to me that she knows what must have gone on. Still, I shake my head, refusing to believe it even as my brain wills me to admit it. 

"I can't be..... it's not possible....."

"Katniss, child, I went through this four times myself. Watched Prim experience it thrice more. You were there, too! Surely....."

My eyes sting with tears as I furiously shake my head. "I can't. What would he say? What would any of your family say? Do you really want the girls and Ben to think their Auntie Katniss is a whore? What will they think of me?"

"They will think _nothing_ of you! Nothing horrible. And neither will Gale; Prim and I will make sure of that! But you have to fix this first."

Ever since Mother died, Hazelle has been like a mom to me. It only strengthened when my sister got her as a mother-in-law. Slowly, I nod. Hazelle gives me a hug before leaving me to my thoughts. But there is no longer anything to think about. 

I know what I have to do. I have to face him. I have to face my ex-husband. 

* * *

It is a few hours after dusk when I arrive at the bakery. I tentatively knock. Moments later, Peeta opens the door with a confused and worried expression on his face. He ushers me inside, closing the door behind him. 

"Katniss? What are you doing here?"

"To see you. I have to tell you something," I spill out quickly, before I lose my nerve. 

Peeta sighs, running a hand over his face. "If you're about to tell me you love me, or that..... you're apologizing for what happened that night....."

"I'm pregnant," I burst out. 

Peeta stares at me for a long moment, stunned. He's blinking rather rapidly. I scan his eyes searchingly. "Say something!"

Peeta rests his hands against the counter, exhaling long and low. Finally, he raises his eyes to me. "Well, I guess there's just one thing to do. We have to marry. And I want to marry you, Katniss! I want to marry you!...... if you'll have me."

I shake my head. "No. You don't."

He blinks. "Katniss, you may not realize this, but I have regretted letting you go every day since the accident! I have no _idea_ what possessed me to throw away the only woman I've ever loved in some vain hope I would heal easier. I have never stopped loving you, and if given the chance, I would marry you again in a heartbeat! Why would I lie?"

I turn my face away, unable to bear looking at him. "Merchant boys don't mean the things they say when....." I am about to finish with 'when they're drunk,' but I correct myself to spare him. "..... when they're having sex."

When I train my gaze back on him, Peeta is staring at me strangely. "I told you I wanted to marry you the first time we slept together," he whispers intensely. "And we did. I wasn't lying to you then. And I'm not lying now."

I gulp, my heart rate suddenly speeding up. I take a sudden interest in the wooden flooring. When I glance up at the sound of movement, I see Peeta bearing down on me. I jump back, startled. "What are you doing?"

"Will you just stand still?" he barks exasperatedly. I barely have time to recall that oldest of jokes between us before he is swooping me into his arms and kissing me right on the lips.

I surprise even myself when I return it without any resistance whatsoever; I practically swoon in his embrace as his arms go about me. I drape my arms across his shoulders as if they will keep me from tumbling end over end into this sweet abyss I find yawning wide before me. And all I want to do is just jump...... 

The kiss gets heated very quickly. I feel Peeta pick me up as though I weigh nothing at all, let him bend me back over the counter before he scrambles nimbly on top of it, on top of me. Yanking at each other's clothes, we strip naked quickly so we can proceed to make sweet, slow, sensual passionate love...... My only whole, coherent thought is how lovely it is to be taken right over a countertop. My back grinds against smooth, glassy marble with every roll of Peeta's pelvis into me. We kiss slowly, tenderly, our lips disappearing into each other like a rock sinking through water. Our sweaty limbs plaster together just right. The feel of clasping each other's skin.... it as if our bodies were made to fit perfectly together. I lose myself in this man who is in my arms, as the rest of the world falls away....... 

* * *

The moon is high in the sky, bathing Peeta's and my post-coitus forms as we snuggle together, still on that countertop. It's very late; my Hawthorne relatives will be wondering where I am. 

Which reminds me....... 

"Yes," I whisper gently to Peeta, pecking his lips chastely with mine. "I will marry you. But..... I have to introduce you to my family first."

He raises himself up on one elbow, giving me an amused smile. "You mean your sister's family?"

"Yes, and her mother-in-law. Her husband, Gale. And they have three beautiful babies - my nieces and nephew." I smile shyly, blushing. "They'll want to meet their Uncle Peeta....."

"Yeah, but I bet your brother-in-law doesn't want to meet 'Uncle Peeta'!" my lover cracks. "I heard what he was saying about me that night at the festival....."

"It doesn't matter what Gale thinks. And if he's idiotic enough to make a fucking peep about it, my sister and his mom will put him in his place!"

"I'm not sure whether that makes me feel better or more terrified," Peeta muses. He's seen Primrose mad. Couple her with Hazelle's temper, and God help us all! "What do you suggest?"

"Come with me to dinner in the next few nights. Let me introduce you to Rory and Winnie and Ben."

Peeta smiles wistfully. "They sound like great kids." He kisses my nose, then pecks my lips. "All right. I'll come. I'll need to see if our baby is going to have nice cousins to play with. An aunt and uncle to dote on him."

" _Him_?" I smirk, amused. "What makes you think it's a boy?"

"Intuition and gene history," Peeta quips. "There hasn't been a Mellark daughter born in at least five generations!"

"I'm a dangerous girl," I grin slyly and flirtatiously. "You know I've never been one to conform to the rules."

"No, indeed," Peeta grins. "I wouldn't be surprised if the rules against breaking the Mellark patriarchy are right next to the ones that forbid hunting outside the district."

We laugh, before falling asleep in each other's arms.


	9. Uncle Peeta & Auntie Katniss

**Chapter 9: Uncle Peeta & Auntie Katniss** 

A few nights later, I return home from hunting in the woods, humming to myself. After providing game for the dinner rush at the Hob, I wander through town. Finally, I steal away into an alley just beyond the Hawthorne Homestead and meet my lover there. 

"Have you got it?" Peeta whispers after breaking up our kiss in greeting. 

Smiling, I hold up the engagement ring he gave to me the night we made love in the bakery. I slip it on, and it feels almost like a preventive measure against what might come. It's strange, how two people in love and who really know each other can think on such similar tracks. For Peeta suddenly asks, "What if they don't like me?"

"They'll love you," I assure him with a kiss. 

"I was actually referring to anyone _not_ under the age of six," Peeta rolls his eyes.

"Prim already loves you," I laugh, staring at him in half-shock. "She'll just be surprised to see us..... together. And Hazelle knows we were..... married."

"So I guess that leaves old Gale, huh?" Peeta sighs. 

"He'll be forced into line," I almost hum happily, smiling. We kiss again. "Come on." Taking his hand, I lead him into the Homestead. I grandly open the front door and head for the kitchen, before I lose my nerves. Hazelle looks up from where she is setting the table. 

"Peeta! What a lovely surprise!" She turns to her grandchild. "Rory, set an extra plate; we have a guest!" Rory dutifully goes to obey. 

Peeta takes a seat with me, and I next to him. Not once do I let go of his arm. The whole time I keep a beaming smile on my face, hoping it doesn't come off as forced. I'm happy, I really am! But that doesn't mean I'm not nervous. 

Prim now comes down the stairs. She stops short and blinks upon seeing Peeta, but then she smiles knowingly. "I'll be damned, Peeta....."

My lover rises to embrace her. "It's been too long, Prim."

"It sure has," she smiles. 

"Well, you grew up gorgeous," Peeta compliments her. 

I gasp in mock-outrage. "I'm sitting right here, Peeta!"

"Yes, and I'm standing right here!" Gale grumbles as he pauses on the stair landing behind his wife, watching as Peeta and Prim move apart. My brother-in-law holds out his hand gruffly. "Mellark."

"Hawthorne." Peeta is cordial, correct, as the two men shake hands. Sensing the tension, Hazelle purposefully inserts herself to break it up and keep things lively. "Gale, come help me peel the potatoes!" She literally drags him over to the sink. Prim follows, giving Peeta an almost apologetic look. Peeta just shakes his head, a small smile tugging at his mouth, before returning to me. After a moment, Winnie takes a seat across from us, regarding Peeta curiously. 

"Who are you?"

"I'm Peeta," my lover smiles, extending a hand. "You must be..... Rory, right?"

"I'm _Winnie_. _That's_ Rory," my niece points to her older sister, who is playing with Ben on the carpet in the living room. She continues to study Peeta the way an artist might study a painting. "Is Auntie Katniss in love with you?"

Peeta stares at her, unsure how to broach romantic love with a four-year-old. "Well...... Winnie..... I would hope..... she is..... I love her......"

"I knew it!" Winnie squeals, eyes shining. "Auntie looks at you all goofy! She really likes you." She now turns to me. "Auntie Katniss, does he kiss you like Daddy kisses Mommy? Do you sleep in the same bed? Are you married?"

I laugh nervously. "Whoa, whoa, slow down, sweetheart! We'll talk about it. Why don't you help your parents with dinner?" Winnie scampers off, Peeta staring after her in amazement. 

"Jesus, Katniss, how old _is_ that kid?"

I bite back a smile. "She's four....."

"..... going on forty!" Another thought strikes him. "Does she know about us?"

I glance down. "That night I sold you the squirrels and you paid way too much, I was thinking back to..... when we got divorced. And I was crying...... Gale and Prim were fooling around at the sink - kissing, touching. Winnie comes over and asks me what's wrong, and wondered if I had anyone to kiss me like that. I told her that I did once, and she asked what happened to her uncle....."

I don't cry, but Peeta nevertheless hugs me close to his side and kisses my temple. "If we have a little girl, I want her to be as smart and sensitive as Winnie."

I smile, before capturing his lips with mine. "I'd like that."

Girlish squeals make us jump apart to find both Winnie and Rory staring at us in abject wonder. Ben, meanwhile, is too engrossed in his toys to bother with the public displays of affection perpetuated by his aunt. 

Everyone gathers down to eat, Winnie and Rory stealing glances at Peeta and me before giggling and whispering to each other. Brief small talk, broken by long bouts of silence, is conducted. Prim and Hazelle do an admirable job of making Peeta feel welcome, but I can tell they keep waiting for Gale to say something..... civilized. Or rather, say anything at all. 

Finally, Hazelle decides to throw us all into the deep end, as she spies my one hand on the tabletop. "Katniss..... there is a very important ring on a very important finger......"

As if afraid I might try to retract and hide it, Prim seizes my right hand so that the engagement ring is there for all to see. "Oh, Katniss! Oh......" She squeals happily. "Congratulations, Peeta!"

"Yes, all the best to the happy couple," Hazelle nods. 

Then, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law move as one, turning their heads expectantly to the young man smushed between them. Gale looks from one woman to the other, his expression blank except for his eyes narrowing slightly. I try not to smirk. Gale walked right into a trap when sitting between them, and he knows it now, too. There's no way out. Prim is giving him a look that says she will no less than divorce him if he so much as bitches about this. Gale finally clears his throat and extends a hand across the table. 

"Welcome to the family..... Peeta." 

The use of his first name is not lost on my fianceé, who smiles good-naturedly and clasps Gale's hand. "Thank you, Gale."

The dinner devolves into excited chaos after that, Winnie and Rory running around to get a look at my engagement ring, then asking Peeta if they can call him their uncle. And on and on it goes...... 


	10. Together at Last

**Chapter 10: Together At Last**  

I frown into the mirror as I adjust my veil one way, then the other. Once I am satisfied that I have it just right, I bend down towards my niece. 

"Winnie, can you get my bouquet please, sweetie?"

My youngest niece fetches it, while my oldest niece prepares to bunch up my bridal train in her arms. Winnie presents the bouquet to me. 

"Thank you," I kiss her cheek warmly. "You two are going to be the best flower girls!"

"Yeah!" Rory grins, eyes shining. "And Ben will help carry the rings!"

"Daddy has to help hold him, though," Winnie shrugs. "I don't know if it counts."

"Of course it counts!" I laugh. "Your brother is going to be the cutest Ring Bearer in all of Panem!" I check my reflection one last time. "Come on, girls. Let's go get your aunt married!"

"And get us our Uncle Peeta!" Winnie cheers as we exit. 

This time, I am proud and unapologetic as my family guides me to the Justice Building. As we go along the streets out of the Seam and then into the Merchant district, I can see people peering out their windows, whispering. I don't have to hear them to know what they're thinking. They know of my impending marriage to a Merchant. The breaking of class lines. When the news of Peeta's and my engagement broke, it caused quite a stir. My nieces must notice the attention, too, for they glance up to me nervously. 

"Ignore them," I whisper to both little girls. "This is our moment. Our family's moment."

We hurry inside the Justice Building through a side door. Guided down some twisty halls, we arrive in the small chapel off in one corner. It's smaller than when Peeta and I first wed in my living room, but nevertheless feels more..... appropriate. I have eyes only for the man who will soon be my husband - again! He is smiling at me like I am an angel. 

Hazelle passes me off to Peeta when we reach the end of the aisle. I know it is customary for a man to do the escorting, but Gale already has his hands full with Ben, and Ben himself is way too small for the task. The thought makes me smile. 

The same clerk who married us nearly a decade and a half before officiates. Peeta and I exchange vows, then the rings presented by Gale and Ben; the Hawthornes are our only witnesses. Then, Peeta adds an extra something special, presenting gifts he found to Rory, Winnie and Ben before hugging each of them in turn. 

At last, the Clerk pronounces Peeta and I as husband and wife. We kiss passionately, and I am heartened when I hear my relatives applaud and cheer...... even Gale. 

"I love you," I smile up at my husband. 

Peeta flashes a gentle, tender grin. "I love you back," he whispers. We kiss once again.


	11. Two Worlds, One Family

**Chapter 11: Two Worlds, One Family**  

As usual, I rise with the dawn. Turning over in the large bed, I am amused to find my husband of five years (not counting the two years of our previous marriage) still snoring away. He is usually much better about waking up on time. I kiss him awake sweetly. 

"Good morning," I purr. "You've got a bakery to run...... Up and at 'em!"

Peeta raises himself up to capture my lips with his. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

"Dozens of times," I rise languidly from the mattress. "I'll go make sure Jennifer is up. She wanted to come into work with you today."

I help wake, wash and dress Peeta's and my five-year-old daughter. Because she is going to the bakery with her Daddy, she is much more agreeable when accomplishing these tasks than she normally is. I quickly spray off after her and dress in my standard hunting gear before meeting Peeta at the bottom of the stairs. We eat a quick breakfast prepared by Hazelle; she had already cooked some to see Gale off to the mines long before first light. 

"Ready?" I ask. 

My husband and daughter nod. "Ready!"

Each taking a hand, Peeta and I guide Jennifer out the door. 

"Have fun!" Prim waves us off from the door. 

One might think that two families related by marriage living together under one roof would be annoying and stressful. Sometimes it is, but I could never say it was boring. Besides, Jennifer gets to be closer to her cousins, and Uncle Gale and Aunt Prim. Grandma Hazelle, too. 

As for the rest of the District, the first year or so after Peeta and I remarried was hard. We were shunned a lot, but I went along normally, proudly, not ashamed. I would still only ever remain kind even to those who questioned or disapproved of my marriage. Eventually, this attitude won the people of the Merchant sector over. I was gradually accepted by them, and of course, all the Merchants fell in love with little Jennifer. Once that happened, it became almost smooth sailing. 

Looking over at my husband with a smile, we kiss over the top of Jennifer's head, even as she complains about how yucky we are, kissing in public. I giggle against my husband's lips and give my daughter's hand a loving squeeze. To think I had to lose nearly everything in order to gain back the happiness worthy of a lifetime! It's been a hard journey, to be sure, but as long as it always ended with me married to the man I love, the father of our child, the best uncle to our nieces and nephew, I would go through all the heartache all over again. No regrets. Ever.                                                          


End file.
